System and method for adding routing paths in a network

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computer program products, and the like, for providing multiple egress points from a telecommunications network for a client of the network. In particular, the process and system allows for multiple provider edges of the network to utilize a route reflector server to provide a border gateway protocol (BGP) route to other provider edges in the network. Further, the multiple provider edges may each announce similar interior gateway protocol (IGP) routes through the network such that a provider edge receiving a packet intended for the customer network may select from the multiple IGP routes to provide the intended packet to the customer network. In this manner, the receiving provider edge may load balance among the various connections of the customer network to the telecommunications network.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to systems andmethods for implementing a telecommunications network, and morespecifically for routing packets for a client to a network with multipleegress points within a particular geographic area.

BACKGROUND

Many telecommunications networks include a route reflector device thatreceives routing information from devices within and outside the networkand re-broadcast or announce the received routes to other devices.Through the route reflector device, devices within thetelecommunications network receive an understanding of the connectivityof the network through which communication packets may be transmitted.However, the use of route reflectors may cause undesirable issues forthe telecommunications network. For example, many route reflectordevices are configured to only broadcast a preferred or “best” route toother devices for customers to the network that have several egressrouting paths. This acts to force all traffic from the network to thecustomer on one route, potentially overloading that route when otheropen routes are also available. In another example, the route reflectordevice may be configured to broadcast every received route to a customerend device or network to the network devices. However, as more and morecustomers are added to the network, the number of potential routesthrough the network and egressing from the network may quickly exceedthe processing and/or storing capabilities of some of the provider edgesor route reflectors of the network, thereby slowing down thetransmission speed of the telecommunications network.

It is with these and other issues in mind that various aspects of thepresent disclosure were developed.

SUMMARY

One implementation of the present disclosure may take the form of amethod for routing a communication through a telecommunications network.The method may include the operations of receiving a border gatewayprotocol (BGP) route for a customer network comprising an identifier ofthe customer network and a customer-specific next-hop value, receiving aplurality of interior gateway protocol (IGP) routes, each of theplurality of IGP routes comprising a route through thetelecommunications network to a network device and the customer-specificnext-hop value, selecting a route from the plurality of IGP routes basedon the received BGP route, and transmitting a received communicationalong the selected route to the customer network.

Another implementation of the present disclosure may take the form of atelecommunications network device. The device may include a networkcommunication port for communicating with devices of atelecommunications network, a processing device, and a computer-readablemedium with one or more executable instructions stored thereon. When theinstructions are executed by the processing device, the operations ofreceiving a border gateway protocol (BGP) route for a customer networkconnected to the telecommunications network comprising an identifier ofthe customer network and a customer-specific next-hop value, receiving aplurality of interior gateway protocol (IGP) routes, each of theplurality of IGP routes comprising a route through thetelecommunications network to a network device and the customer-specificnext-hop value, selecting a route from the plurality of IGP routes basedon the received BGP route, and transmitting a received communicationalong the selected route to the customer network are performed.

Yet another implementation of the present disclosure may take the formof a telecommunications network. The network may include a plurality ofedge devices each receiving border gateway protocol (BGP) informationfrom a customer network in communication with a telecommunicationsnetwork and announcing BGP route information comprising an indication ofthe customer network and a customer-specific next-hop value and a routereflector device receiving the BGP route information comprising theindication of the customer network and the customer-specific next-hopvalue from each of the plurality of edge devices, the route reflectorannouncing one instance of the BGP route information comprising theindication of the customer network and the customer-specific next-hopvalue. The network may also include a routing device receiving theannounced BGP route information comprising the indication of thecustomer network and the customer-specific next-hop value from the routereflector and a plurality of interior gateway protocol (IGP) routes,each of the plurality of IGP routes comprising a route through thetelecommunications network to a network device and the customer-specificnext-hop value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary Internet Protocol(IP) operating environment in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network environment toprovide multiple routes to a client network through the networkenvironment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a provider edge of atelecommunications network to broadcast border gateway protocol (BGP)and interior gateway protocol (IGP) announcements with acustomer-specific value.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a provider edge of atelecommunications network to transmit a packet to a customer networkbased on a customer-specific value as a next-hop value.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computing system whichmay be used in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, computerprogram products, and the like, for providing multiple egress pointsfrom a telecommunications network for a client of the network. Ingeneral, the process allows for a client of the network to receiveintended packets of information through multiple connections to thenetwork without the need to exceedingly increase the number of routesthrough the network. More particularly, the process and system allowsfor multiple provider edges of the network to utilize a route reflectorserver to provide a border gateway protocol (BGP) route to otherprovider edges in the network. Further, the multiple provider edges mayeach announce similar interior gateway protocol (IGP) routes through thenetwork such that a provider edge receiving a packet intended for thecustomer network may select from the multiple IGP routes to provide theintended packet to the customer network. In this manner, the receivingprovider edge may load balance among the various connections of thecustomer network to the telecommunications network. Also, as explainedin more detail below, the system and process reduces the number ofroutes maintained by the components of the network over previoussolutions for providing multiple egress points from the network.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary operating environment 100 for providingmultiple egress points from a telecommunications network for a client ofthe network. In general, the environment 100 provides for establishingcommunication sessions between network users and for providing one ormore network services to network users. For example, content from acontent delivery network (CDN) may be provided to and/or from one ormore customers of the network through the operating environment 100discussed herein. With specific reference to FIG. 1, the environment 100includes an IP network 102, which may be provided by a wholesale networkservice provider. However, while the environment 100 of FIG. 1 shows aconfiguration using the IP network 102; it should be appreciated thatportions of the network may include non IP-based routing. For example,network 102 may include devices utilizing time division multiplexing(TDM) or plain old telephone service (POTS) switching. In general, thenetwork 102 of FIG. 1 may include any communication network devicesknown or hereafter developed.

The IP network 102 includes numerous components such as, but not limitedto gateways, routers, and registrars, which enable communication and/orprovides services across the IP network 102, but are not shown ordescribed in detail here because those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand these components. More relevant to this description is theinteraction and communication between the IP network 102 and otherentities, such as the one or more customer home or business local areanetworks (LANs) 106, where a user of the network will connect with thenetwork.

Customer network 106 can include communication devices such as, but notlimited to, a personal computer or a telephone 110 connected to arouter/firewall 114. Although shown in FIG. 1 as computer 110, thecommunication devices may include any type of communication device thatreceives a multimedia signal, such as an audio, video or web-basedsignal, and presents that signal for use by a user of the communicationdevice. The communication and networking components of the customernetwork 106 enable a user at the customer network 106 to communicate viathe IP network 102 to other communication devices, such as anothercustomer network 126 and/or the Internet 142. Components of the customernetwork 106 are typically home- or business-based, but they can berelocated and may be designed for easy portability. For example, thecommunication device 110 may be wireless (e.g., cellular) telephone,smart phone, tablet or portable laptop computer. In some embodiments,multiple communication devices in diverse locations that are owned oroperated by a particular entity or customer may be connected through theIP network 102.

The customer network 106 typically connects to the IP network 102 via aborder network 122, such as one provided by an Internet Service Provider(ISP). The border network 122 is typically provided and maintained by abusiness or organization such as a local telephone company or cablecompany. The border network 122 may providenetwork/communication-related services to their customers. In contrast,the communication device 120 accesses, and is accessed by, the IPnetwork 102 via a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 126 operatedby a local exchange caroute reflectorier (LEC). Communication via any ofthe networks can be wired, wireless, or any combination thereof.Additionally, the border network 122 and PSTN 126 may communicate, insome embodiments, with the IP Network 102 through a media gateway device130 or provider edge 132, 131. For ease of instruction, only threecommunication devices 110, 115, 120 are shown communicating with the IPnetwork 102; however, numerous such devices, and other devices, may beconnected with the network, which is equipped to handle enormous numbersof simultaneous calls and/or other IP-based communications.

As mentioned above, the telecommunications network may provide aninterface to a customer to connect to the network through a provideredge 132. In some instances, a customer network may connect to thetelecommunications network through more than one provider edge devices.In particular, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a networkenvironment 200 to provide multiple routes for a client network 204through the network environment. The telecommunications network 202 ofFIG. 2 may be similar to that of FIG. 1 such that the networks mayinclude the same or similar components. Further, client networks 204,206 connected to the telecommunications network 202 may utilize thenetwork to send and receive packets of information to/from othercustomers to the network.

As shown in FIG. 2, a client network (designated CN-1 204) connects tothe network 202 through multiple provider edge devices or networks. Inparticular, CN-1 204 connects to the network 202 through provider edge 1208, provider edge 2, 210, and provider edge 3 212. The connectionsbetween the customer network 204 and the provider edges 208-212 providethree or more routes between the customer network and thetelecommunications network 202 along which communications or packets maybe transmitted. It should be appreciated, however, that the customernetwork 204 may connect to the network 202 through any number of edgedevices in any locations. For example, the customer network 204 mayconnect to a first provider edge located in San Francisco, Calif., and asecond provide edge located in Dallas, Tex. In the particular embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, however, each of the provider edges 208-212 arelocated within the same geographic area. For example, the provider edges208-212 may be located in a single metro area. A second customer network(CN-2 206) is also illustrated as connected to provider edge 2 210 andprovider edge 3 212. Thus, each provider edge 208-212 may includeseveral communication ports through which several customers of thenetwork 202 (such as CN-1 204 and CN-2 206) may communicate and transmitpackets of information to/from the network.

In one particular configuration, the network 202 may include a routereflector device or server 214. In general, the route reflector 214 is aserver that receives an announced route from a telecommunications deviceand broadcasts the received route to other devices in the network 202.As utilized in the network 202 of FIG. 2, the route reflector 214receives routes announced from provider edges 208-212 and broadcasts thereceived routes to other provider edges, servers, media gateways, etc.of the network 202. The use of the route reflector 214 in the network202 removes the need for each device of the network to communicate itsannounced route to each of the other devices in the network. Rather, theroute reflector 214 announces each received route to each other devicesitself so that each device in the network is not tasked with announcingroutes to each other device.

In one particular embodiment, the route that is received and broadcastby the route reflector 214 is a border gateway protocol (BGP) routeannounced by the transmitting provider edge 208-212. In general, BGPinformation (or BGP session, BGP feed or BGP data) is a table ofInternet Protocol (IP) prefixes which designate network connectivitybetween autonomous systems (AS) or separate networks. BGP informationfor a network route may include path (including next-hop information),network policies and/or rule-sets for transmission along the path, amongother information. The BGP feed may also include Interior GatewayProtocol (IGP) information for network routes within an AS or networkand/or other network information that pertains to the transmission ofcontent from the network. However, as described below, BGP informationmainly describes routes used by the network 202 to connect to externalnetworks or customers (such as CN-1 204 and CN-2 206) while IGPinformation describes routes through the network to connect one provideredge (such as provider edge 216) to another provider edge (such asprovider edge 208) through a telecommunications network.

One or more of the components of the network 202 may announce through aBGP session routes serviced by that component. For example, PE-A 208 mayprovide a BGP announcement that indicates which networks (such as CN-1204) that may be accessed through PE-A. Thus, the BGP announcement forPE-A 208 may include a path and next-hop information that designates apath along which packets may be transmitted or received from theconnected networks (such as CN-1). The next-hop information generallyidentifies a particular device of the network 202 through which andestination end device or network is available. Further, because twosuch customer networks 204, 206 are connected to PE-B 210, the BGPannouncement from PE-B may include routing information for both CN-1 andCN-2 (i.e., routing information for providing communication packets toCN-1 204 and CN-2 206). In one embodiment, the BGP announcements fromthe provider edges 208-212 are provided to the route reflector 214 forre-broadcasting to other components of the network 202. Through thisprocess, each component of the network 202 may become aware of theegress ports available for each of the customers 204, 206 connected tothe network and how to route packets intended for those connectednetworks.

When a customer to the network 202 has a single access port to/from thenetwork 202, the route reflector 214 announces the received BGP routinginformation for the single access port. However, in some circumstances,a customer has multiple connections to the network 202. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2, route reflector 214 receives BGP routinginformation for CN-1 204 from PE-A 208, PE-B 210, and PE-C 212 as thatparticular customer network is connected to each of the three provideredges. In other words, packets or communications intended for CN-1 204may be transmitted through any of PE-A through PE-C. However, some routereflectors 214 may only repeat or broadcast a single access route whenseveral possible routes for a destination are received at the routereflector. For example, the routing information provided by PE-A throughPE-C indicates that packets may be sent to CN-1 204 through PE-A 208,PE-B 210, or PE-C 212. However, in many cases, the route reflector 214is configured to select a “best path” based on network metrics andbroadcast the single “best path” to other network devices (such as PE-D216). Thus, each device in the network 202 may only receive a singlerouting path through one of the possible multiple egress ports to theparticular customer network. As such, all traffic for a customer networkconnected to the telecommunications network 202 is limited to egressthrough selected “best path” or selected provider edge, reducing thepotential network performance gained through multiple connections to thenetwork.

To address this issue of selection of a “best path” by the routereflector 214, a route reflector device may be configured to relay morethan one route path for a given BGP prefix (or customer network).Continuing the example above, route reflector 214 may announce to PE-D216 that CN-1 204 is available through PE-A 208, PE-B 210, or PE-C 212.In turn, PE-D 216 may be configured to select along which route to sendtraffic designated with the prefix associated with CN-1 204. In someinstances, PE-D 216 is configured to load share packets intended forCN-1 204 over the multiple routes announced through the BGP announcementfrom route reflector 214.

One potential issue with configuring the route reflector 214 to repeator broadcast multiple routes or paths for a client destination ornetwork is the increase in the number of possible routes to all networkcustomers received and stored at the devices of the network 202. Forexample, through the mechanism described above, PE-D 216 would receivethree possible routes to access CN-1 204 from the route reflector 214.In addition to the routes for CN-1 204, the route reflector 214 wouldalso receive and broadcast two routes to access CN-2 206 through PE-B2120 and PE-C 212. These routes would also be repeated out to PE-D 216through a similar BGP session and/or announcement procedure. Thisprocess is typically executed for each customer and/or destinationconnected to the network 202 such that PE-D 216 may maintain or storeseveral million route paths for all of the possible destination devicesand/or networks associated with the telecommunications network. As moreand more connections for a customer network 204, 206 are added to thenetwork, the number of potential routes through the network andegressing from the network may quickly exceed the processing and/orstoring capabilities of some of the provider edges or route reflectorsof the network.

To reduce the number of routes maintained by the provider edges and/orother components of the network 202, an alternate process is nowintroduced for providing multiple routes to/from the network 202 for acustomer network 204. In particular, FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustratinga method 300 for a provider edge of a telecommunications network 202 tobroadcast border gateway protocol (BGP) and interior gateway protocol(IGP) announcements with a customer specific value. Through theoperations of the method 300 of FIG. 3, the network 202 may providemultiple routes through the network for a particular customer network204 without significantly increasing the number of routes maintained bythe components of the network. In addition, the method 300 allows fordevices within the network 202 to continue to load balance among manypossible routes of the network.

Beginning in operation 302, the provider edge (PE-A 208 in thisparticular example) receives BGP information from a customer network(CN-1 204 in this example). The BGP information from CN-1 204 may bereceived during a BGP session between PE-A 208 and CN-1 and includesinformation for connecting to the network. For example, the BGPinformation may include an autonomous system (AS) identifier and/orother route path information that the network 202 may utilize todetermine which route to transmit packets or communications intended forCN-1. Upon receiving the BGP information from CN-1 204, PE-A 208 may addnext-hop information to the received BGP information and broadcast theamended BGP information to other components of the network 202, such asroute reflector 214. In general, PE-A 208 provides BGP information tothe route reflector 214 through a BGP session between the components.Through this session, PE-A 208 provides BGP information that includesthe received route and a next-hop identifier that is associated withPE-A, along with other parameters. Thus, in the above example where theroute reflector 214 selects the best path, each provider edge connectedto the CN-1 204 would provide the same routing information with adifferent next-hop value associated with the broadcasting provider edge.The route reflector 214, in turn, would select the “best route” andbroadcast to PE-D 216 the BGP information of the selected route,including the next-hop value associated with the selected route. In theembodiment above where the route reflector 214 relays more than oneroute path for a particular customer network, the route reflectorannounces all of the received BGP routes with the different next-hopvalues and allows the receiving components to select which route toutilize.

In one particular embodiment, the method 300 of FIG. 3 includes adding acustomer-specific next-hop value in the announced BGP route. Forexample, each provider edge 208-212 receiving BGP information from CN-1204 is programmed or otherwise configured to provide a customer-specificnext-hop value associated with CN-1. One such next-hop value may be, forexample, 1.1.1.1. However, it should be appreciated that the next-hopvalue for a particular client or customer network may be any valuetransferable over a BGP session. For other customers or customernetworks (such as CN-2 206), a different customer-specific next-hopvalue is associated with received routes. For example, the next-hopvalue for CN-2 206 may be 1.1.1.2. Further still, the next-hop value maybe limited to certain geographic areas. Thus, a portion of CN-1 204connecting to the network 202 in San Francisco would have a firstnext-hop value while a different portion of CN-1 connecting to thenetwork in Houston would have a different next-hop value.

With the customer-specific next-hop value attached, each PE 208-212receiving BGP information from the customer network 204 transmits thesame BGP route information to the route reflector 214 in operation 304.Thus, PE-A 208, PE-B 210, and PE-C 212 would provide BGP routeinformation that includes the received route and the customer-specificnext-hop value to the route reflector 214. Further, each provider edgetransmitting the BGP route is configured to provide packets orcommunications from the network 202 that utilize the customer-specificnext-hop value to the customer network 204 associated with next-hopvalue.

In some instances, the route reflector 214 relays the received BGP routeinformation to other components in the network 202, such as PE-D 216.However, because the route reflector 214 receives the same routinginformation from each of the PEs connected to CN-1 204, the routereflector 214 relays a single BGP route comprising the customer networkroute (such as the AS of the customer network) and the customer-specificnext-hop value. In another embodiment, the route reflector 214 relaysthe three received routes (even though the three received routes fromPE-A 208 through PE-C 212 are the same) to PE-D 216. PE-D 216 may beconfigured to recognize the identical routes and elect to maintain onlyone of the duplicate routes to CN-1 204. Through the use of thecustomer-specific next-hop value, the number of routes broadcast ormaintained by PE-D 216 is thereby reduced as the same routinginformation is received at the route reflector 214 for packets intendedfor CN-1 204.

In addition to broadcasting the same BGP route with thecustomer-specific next-hop value, each provider edge is configured tobroadcast IGP information to the network 202 with self-identifyinginformation and the customer-specific next-hop value in operation 306.As mentioned above, IGP information is used by the network 202 todescribe routes between components through the network. In other words,components of the network 202 utilize the IGP information to know how toroute communications from one component of the network to another. Thus,PE-D 216 maintains IGP routing information to determine routes throughthe telecommunications network 202 to transmit packets to PE-A 208, PE-B210, or PE-C 212. This IGP information for the components of the network202 is transmitted from component to component through IGP sessionsbetween the components of the network. As such, PE-D may receive IGPinformation concerning PE-A 208 through PE-C 212 that describes routesavailable through the network to connect PE-D to PE-A, PE-B 210, and/orPE-C.

As mentioned, PE-A 208 through PE-C 212 are configured to announce IGProuting information to the network 202. In one particular embodiment,the IGP information includes an identifier of the announcing PE 208-212and the customer-specific next-hop value discussed above. Once receivedat PE-D 216, the IGP routing information may be stored or otherwisemaintained by PE-D. These IGP routes inform PE-D 216 (and othercomponents of the network 202) that packets or communications with thecustomer-specific next-hop value may be transmitted to any of PE-A 208,PE-B 210, or PE-C 212 as each PE has announced through the IGPinformation that they may transmit such packets to the customer network204.

By providing IGP routing information for multiple egress ports from thenetwork 202 to a customer network 204 rather than having the routereflector 214 announce multiple BGP routes to the customer network, thenetwork components may maintain a smaller total number of routes forrouting packets or communications. As mentioned above, a network devicemay maintain millions of BGP routes for each customer or device incommunication with the network 202. This number may increasesignificantly for networks that utilize a route reflector 214 to relaymultiple BGP routes for customers of the network 202 that are connectedto the network through multiple ports. In contrast, the number of IGProutes maintained by a network device is far smaller than the number ofpotential BGP routes as the routes through the telecommunicationsnetwork 202 are generally limited by the network configuration. In otherwords, there are only so many paths through the network 202 that connectPE-D 216, for example, to PE-A 208. The system and method describedherein utilizes the limited potential IGP routes through the network 202to provide the multiple egress ports to a particular customer network204. Thus, rather than significantly increasing the BGP routesmaintained at each device of the network 202, each device may receive asingle BGP route for a customer network 204 with multiple connections tothe network. The multiple connections are then described in IGP routesthrough the network 202 and each device may then select from those IGProutes to route a communication to a device connected to the customernetwork 204. In this manner, multiple egress/ingress ports may beutilized by a customer network 204 without significantly increasing thenumber of BGP routes maintained by the network components.

In operation 308, the provider edges of the network 202 receive a packetor communication intended for a particular customer network routed tothe provider edges with the customer-specific next-hop value. Asmentioned above, the PEs may be configured to recognize thecustomer-specific next-hop value as being associated with a connectedcustomer network 204. The received packet may also include a destinationaddress (such as an IP address) for a destination within the customernetwork 204. Thus, in operation 310, the receiving PE routes thereceived communication or packet to the customer network 204 based onthe customer-specific next-hop value and/or other routing informationassociated with the packet. In this manner, the provider edges 208-212of the network 202 may route packets through multiple egress/ingressports to the customer network 204.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 for a provider edge 216of a telecommunications network 202 to transmit a packet to a customernetwork 204 based on a customer-specific value as a next-hop value. Theoperations of the method 400 may be performed by a provider edge (suchas PE-D 216) or any other component of the network in response toreceiving a packet or communication intended for a customer network(such as CN-1 204). Such a communication may be provided by a componentwithin the network 202 (such as a content server) or from atelecommunications device external to the network (such as a contentserver of a provider network).

Beginning in operation 402 and utilizing PE-D 216 as a specific example,the PE receives a BGP announcement that includes one egress route to acustomer network that includes the customer-specific next-hop value asdescribed above. In one example, the BGP route information is receivedat PE-D 216 from route reflector 214 as announced from a provider edgeconnected to the customer network 204. PE-D 216 may store or otherwisemaintain the received BGP route with the customer-specific next-hopvalue for routing of communications to the customer network.

In operation 404, PE-D 216 receives IGP announcements indicatingmultiple egress routes through the network 202 associated with thecustomer-specific next-hop value. For example, PE-D 216 may receive anIGP announcement (or a relayed announcement) for PE-A 208, PE-B 210, andPE-C 212 indicating that communications associated with thecustomer-specific next-hop value may be egressed from the network 202through those particular PEs. In other words, the IGP announcementsindicate to PE-D 216 that packets intended for the customer network 204may be sent to any of PE-A 208 through PE-C 212. Similar to the BGProute information, the IGP route information may also be stored orotherwise maintained by PE-D 216 for use in routing packets to thecustomer network 204.

PE-D 216 receives a packet or communication intended for the customernetwork 204 in operation 406. As mentioned, the packet may includerouting information that identifies the customer network 204 and/or anext-hop value associated with the customer network. Continuing theabove example, the packet may include a next-hop value of1.1.1.1associated by the network 202 with CN-1 204. Through the storedBGP information, PE-D 216 may determine that next-hop value 1.1.1.1 isassociated with CN-1 204 as provided from route reflector 214 to PE-D.In addition, through the received IGP information, PE-D 216 maydetermine that next-hop value 1.1.1.1 allows access to the CN-1 204through PE-A 208, PE-B 210, or PE-C 212 and along which route throughthe network 202 that PE-A, PE-B, and PE-C may be reached. Thus, througha combination of the BGP route (based on the customer-specific next-hopvalue) and the IGP route information through the network 202, PE-D 216may determine which route through the network to transmit the receivedpacket.

In operation 408, PE-D 216 may select a preferred route through thenetwork 202 from the multiple egress routes known to the customernetwork 204. For example, through the received IGP information, PE-D 216is aware of three egress ports from the network 202 to the customernetwork 204, namely PE-A 208, PE-B 210, or PE-C 212. Thus, PE-D 216selects one of the multiple routes to the customer network 204 totransmit the received packet. In one embodiment, PE-D 216 may select a“best route” based on any type of network performance metric andtransmit the packet along the selected route. In another embodiment,PE-D 216 may load balance among the known egress ports to the customernetwork 204 and may select the egress route accordingly. Regardless ofthe configuration of PE-D 216, the provider edge routes the receivedpacket to the customer network along the selected route in operation410.

In one embodiment of the system to provide multiple connections from acustomer network to a telecommunications network, the customer-specificnext-hop value may be provided by the PEs based on a signal from thecustomer network 204. In this embodiment, the customer network 204 mayroutinely provide a value or signal to the connected PEs 208-212. Inresponse to receiving the value or signal, the connected PEs 208-212 maybroadcast the customer-specific next-hop value as described above.Further, the PEs connected to the customer network 204 may alter theannounced BGP information based on whether the dummy value is receivedfrom the customer network 204. For example, in some circumstances theconnection between the customer network 204 and the provider edge 208may be lost (such as when a component of the connection is disabled).With the lost connection, the provider edge 208 may no longer receivethe value or signal from the network. In such cases, the provider edge208 may be configured to stop transmitting the BGP and IGP informationto the telecommunications network 202 that includes thecustomer-specific next-hop value, indicating that the customer network204 may no longer be accessed through the provider edge. In this manner,the system may be configured to provide protection to the network 202when a link to a customer network 204 is lost.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing deviceor computer system 500 which may be used in implementing the embodimentsof the components of the network disclosed above. For example, thecomputing system 500 of FIG. 5 may be the provider edge device discussedabove. The computer system (system) includes one or more processors502-506. Processors 502-506 may include one or more internal levels ofcache (not shown) and a bus controller or bus interface unit to directinteraction with the processor bus 512. Processor bus 512, also known asthe host bus or the front side bus, may be used to couple the processors502-506 with the system interface 514. System interface 514 may beconnected to the processor bus 512 to interface other components of thesystem 500 with the processor bus 512. For example, system interface 514may include a memory controller 514 for interfacing a main memory 516with the processor bus 512. The main memory 516 typically includes oneor more memory cards and a control circuit (not shown). System interface514 may also include an input/output (I/O) interface 520 to interfaceone or more I/O bridges or I/O devices with the processor bus 512. Oneor more I/O controllers and/or I/O devices may be connected with the I/Obus 526, such as I/O controller 528 and I/O device 540, as illustrated.

I/O device 540 may also include an input device (not shown), such as analphanumeric input device, including alphanumeric and other keys forcommunicating information and/or command selections to the processors502-506. Another type of user input device includes cursor control, suchas a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to the processors 502-506and for controlling cursor movement on the display device.

System 500 may include a dynamic storage device, referred to as mainmemory 516, or a random access memory (RAM) or other computer-readabledevices coupled to the processor bus 512 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by the processors 502-506. Main memory 516also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions by the processors 502-506.System 500 may include a read only memory (ROM) and/or other staticstorage device coupled to the processor bus 512 for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processors 502-506. The system setforth in FIG. 5 is but one possible example of a computer system thatmay employ or be configured in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

According to one embodiment, the above techniques may be performed bycomputer system 500 in response to processor 504 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 516.These instructions may be read into main memory 516 from anothermachine-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 516 may causeprocessors 502-506 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with the software instructions. Thus, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may include both hardware and software components.

A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processingapplication) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media maytake the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatilemedia. Non-volatile media includes optical or magnetic disks. Volatilemedia includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 516. Common forms ofmachine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, magneticstorage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g.,CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); randomaccess memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM andEEPROM); flash memory; or other types of medium suitable for storingelectronic instructions.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which aredescribed in this specification. The steps may be performed by hardwarecomponents or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, whichmay be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processorprogrammed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively,the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer toparticular features, the scope of this invention also includesembodiments having different combinations of features and embodimentsthat do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations together with allequivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A method for routing a communication through atelecommunications network, the method comprising: receiving a bordergateway protocol (BGP) route for a customer network comprising anidentifier of the customer network and a customer-specific next-hopvalue; receiving a plurality of interior gateway protocol (IGP) routesfrom a route reflector device of the telecommunications network, each ofthe plurality of IGP routes comprising a route through thetelecommunications network to a network device and the customer-specificnext-hop value; selecting a route from the received plurality of IGProutes based on the received BGP route; and transmitting a receivedcommunication along the selected route to the customer network.
 2. Themethod as recited in claim 1 wherein the BGP route for the customernetwork is received from a route reflector device of thetelecommunications network.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2 whereinthe route reflector receives a plurality of BGP routes for the customernetwork from a plurality of network edge devices, each of the pluralityof network edge devices in communication with the customer network. 4.The method as recited in claim 3 wherein each of the plurality ofnetwork edge devices transmits a unique one of the plurality of IGProutes to the telecommunications network.
 5. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein selecting the route from the plurality of IGP routescomprises selecting a logical shortest route through thetelecommunications network.
 6. The method as recited in claim 1 whereinthe customer network connects to the telecommunications network in aplurality of geographic locations, the method further comprising:receiving a second BGP route for the customer network comprising anidentifier of the customer network and a second customer-specificnext-hop value based on the geographic location of the connection of thecustomer network to the telecommunications network.
 7. The method asrecited in claim 3 wherein each of the plurality of network edge devicesreceive a connection signal from the customer network indicating thecustomer network is in communication with a respective network edgedevice.
 8. A telecommunications network device comprising: a networkcommunication port for communicating with devices of atelecommunications network; a processing device; and a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium with one or more executableinstructions stored thereon, wherein the processing device executes theone or more instructions to perform the operations of: receiving aborder gateway protocol (BGP) route for a customer network connected tothe telecommunications network comprising an identifier of the customernetwork and a customer-specific next-hop value; receiving a plurality ofinterior gateway protocol (IGP) routes from a route reflector device ofthe telecommunications network, each of the plurality of IGP routescomprising a route through the telecommunications network to a networkdevice and the customer-specific next-hop value; selecting a route fromthe received plurality of IGP routes based on the received BGP route;and transmitting a received communication along the selected route tothe customer network.
 9. The telecommunications network device asrecited in claim 8 wherein the BGP route for the customer network isreceived through the network communication port from a route reflectordevice in communication with the telecommunication network device. 10.The telecommunications network device as recited in claim 9 wherein theroute reflector receives a plurality of BGP routes for the customernetwork from a plurality of network edge devices, each of the pluralityof network edge devices in communication with the customer network. 11.The telecommunications network device as recited in claim 10 whereineach of the plurality of network edge devices transmits a unique one ofthe plurality of IGP routes to the telecommunications network devicethrough the network communication port.
 12. The telecommunicationsnetwork device as recited in claim 8 wherein selecting the route fromthe plurality of IGP routes comprises selecting a logical shortest routethrough the telecommunications network.
 13. The telecommunicationsnetwork device as recited in claim 8 wherein the customer networkconnects to the telecommunications network in a plurality of geographiclocations and the processing device further executes the one or moreinstructions to perform the operation of: receiving a second BGP routefor the customer network comprising an identifier of the customernetwork and a second customer-specific next-hop value based on thegeographic location of the connection of the customer network to thetelecommunications network.
 14. A telecommunications network comprising:a plurality of edge devices each receiving border gateway protocol (BGP)information from a customer network in communication with atelecommunications network and announcing BGP route informationcomprising an indication of the customer network and a customer-specificnext-hop value; a route reflector device receiving the BGP routeinformation comprising the indication of the customer network and thecustomer-specific next-hop value from each of the plurality of edgedevices, the route reflector announcing one instance of the BGP routeinformation comprising the indication of the customer network and thecustomer-specific next-hop value, the route reflector devicetransmitting a plurality of interior gateway protocol (IGP) routes, eachof the plurality of IGP routes comprising a route through thetelecommunications network to a network device and the customer-specificnext-hop value; and a routing device receiving the BGP route informationcomprising the indication of the customer network and thecustomer-specific next-hop value from the route reflector and theplurality of IGP routes.
 15. The telecommunications network as recitedin claim 14 wherein the routing device selects a route from theplurality of IGP routes based on the received BGP route and transmits areceived communication along the selected route to the customer network.16. The telecommunications network as recited in claim 14 wherein eachof the plurality of edge devices transmits a unique one of the pluralityof IGP routes to the routing device through the telecommunicationsnetwork.
 17. The telecommunications network as recited in claim 15wherein selecting the route from the plurality of IGP routes comprisesselecting a logical shortest route through the telecommunicationsnetwork.
 18. The telecommunications network as recited in claim 16wherein the customer network connects to the telecommunications networkto the plurality of edge devices in a first geographic location and to asecond edge device in a second geographic location, the second edgedevice transmitting a second BGP route information for the customernetwork to the route reflector comprising an identifier of the customernetwork and a second customer-specific next-hop value based on thesecond geographic location of the connection of the customer network tothe second edge device.